Stamping company invests $20 million in expansion, expects to add 100 employees

Apr. 19, 2013

An overall view of the manufacturing press room at the Jagemann Stamping Company in Manitowoc on Thursday. The company is adding an additional 50,000-square-feet of manufacturing space to this Manitowoc plant. / Sue Pischke/Herald Times Reporter Media

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MANITOWOC Tom Jagemann said Thursday it is both exciting and a bit nerve wracking to invest $20 million in his business.

“To be back in the mode of growing again is a lot more fun and exciting than wondering where the next order is going to come from,” said Jagemann, 57, the chief executive officer of Jagemann Stamping, founded in 1946 by his grandfather, William P. Jagemann Sr.

The third-generation owner said it is “full speed ahead” for the 50,000-square-foot expansion at the city’s west-side I-Tec Park plant producing everything from a million bullet casings weekly to electrical connectors to hook up banks of solar panels to automotive components.

In the board room Thursday, Jagemann held up the “key component” in 30 mm machine gun rounds fired from Army Apache and Black Hawk helicopters.

Other parts, stamped out of steel, stainless steel, aluminum or other metal, might end up in high-performance vehicles, like the Dodge Viper or other vehicles with the goal of helping to increase gas mileage.

The plant addition will open in the fourth quarter of this year and Jagemann said it will be about 80 percent full from day one with orders to be filled. The company expects to add 100 employees during the next 18 months, creating a total Manitowocworkforce of about 325.

Jagemann admitted the last four or five years have been “tough on the economy, especially manufacturers ... some still question how strong the economy will be in the next couple years.”

But the company has added new technologiesand capabilities, including the addition of Jagemann Precision Plastics in Tennessee, broadening its current and potential customer base.

“Even if there is a slowdown, we’re comfortablewith where we are at (and) pulled the trigger,” Jagemann said, with his office about a 100 yards away from where an excavator was performing site preparation work in a light drizzle Thursday morning.

The new building will be on an adjoining 8-acre parcel of land sold by the city of Manitowoc to Jagemann for about $160,000, with the municipality also making a low-interest loan.

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“The city of Manitowoc was a partner in this process from the beginning discussions of expansion and job creation,” stated Mayor Justin Nickels.

“I am proud of the partnerships we have with local businesses, in this case with owner Tom Jagemann, over the years and we are always willing to assist whenever called upon,” Nickels stated.

“This is great news for our community as we begin to see local companies investing in their business and once again adding jobs back into our market,” the mayor stated.

The expansion project also has been aided by partnerships with the state of Wisconsin, Gov. Scott Walker’s office and Jagemann’s private lenders.

Outgrew existing

Jagemann said when its existing 175,000-square-foot facility on 28 acres was built on Custer Street a dozen years ago, they focused on professional areas and offices in addition to manufacturing space.

He said company leaders planned to increase production pace in five to 10 years, “but the recession slowed that down ... what is being added is purely manufacturing (space), about 75 percent more than what we have here.”

“This expansion allows for additional capabilities and capacities to support this growth both now and in the future,” Hardt stated.

Initially, Jagemann said the plant expansion initially was going to be 5,000 square feet ... which turned into 16,000, then 22,000, 28,000 and now 50,000 with Manitowoc-based Hamann Construction Co. serving as general contractor supervising numerous local subcontractors in the months to come.

Much of the $20 million investment is linked to new, additional equipment andtechnology. Recruiting new employees has started. The company is seeking press technicians, machinists, CNC operators, as well as tool and die makers.

Previous experience is preferred but applicants may be coming straight out of a technical college program or other work-academic experiences and Jagemann Stamping stresses ongoing training and developing expertise from within its workforce.

Its slogan is “Just the best people, customer service and technology.” A company brochure declares, “Pairing the latest in technology with the best people houses in a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility enables us to provide our customers with products and service that consistently exceed expectations.”